"What's Inspiring Now" - Contemporary Figurative Artists

Figurative art is indeed on the rise within popular appeal, yet again, and with a bit of a reboot in creative drive.

Here's not too short (nor too long) a list of contemporary artists that I have been looking at lately, inspiring fresh verve on new art projects and coming future creative investments.

Zin Lim's drawings are an expressive, gestural draw for me, pun intended:

saatchiart.com/Zinlim

Instagram

Figure#D04 - by Zin Lim

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Vanessa Lemen, enough said:

vanessalemenart.blogspot.com

Instagram

'Lady of Mermaid Inn' - by Vanessa Lemen - 2016

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Tyler Vouros:

tylervouros.com

Instagram

'Athena Owl' - by Tyler Vouros, 2015

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Stanka Kordic's artwork visits from between worlds:

stankakordic.com

Instagram

'Leila and the Wren' - by Stanka Kordic - 2016

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I've always loved graphite - I would say it is still as yet my favorite choice medium to work with - and I have discovered Mandy Tsung feels the same - On Instagram, of course.

Here's some Mandy Tsung for you:

mandytsung.tumblr.com

Instagram

"Feral Love" - Mandy Tsung - 2015

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João Ruas:

joaoruas.com

Instagram 

'Godiva' - by Joao Ruas, 2013

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Johan Barrios:

johanbarrios.com

Instagram

'Lo Efimero' - by Johan Barrios

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Frank Top:

franktopart.com

Instagram

'Bird Watcher' - by Frank Top, 2015

I'll close this inspiration-themed post with a quote I've found through more art means, about the practice of art in lifestyle:

"To capture through art a fragment of our collective experience. To discover deep meaning and deep thought, the joy of creative expression. We move through life with grace, ethics and spirituality, and relearn daily through our art to cherish humanity and our natural world."
—Valerie Kent

Happy creating!

-Mairin-Taj

"What I'm Reading" - Plus the 2016 Resolution to *Read More*

Happy 2016, everyone!

Honestly, everyone I talk with on the subject exudes possitivity about this year, and it's fantastic. Everyone's excited, and in a good way, including yours truly!

Let's kick off with resolutions and literature, both excellently tempting brain-gear turners.

On my bedside window ledge I have now five books that have since piled up neatly as the initial 'to do' list of reading material. They are:

Beowulf, as translated by Seamus Heaney:

Browse and order on Amazon HERE

Cuchulain of Muirthemne, by Lady Gregory:
*Note the lovely cover illustration by JC Leyendecker

Browse and order on Amazon HERE

The Corpus Hermetica, attributed to Hermes Trismestigustus:

Browse Goodreads HERE

Memories, Dreams, Reflections, by Carl Jung:

Browse and order on Amazon HERE

And lastly, so far:

The Book On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, by Alan Watts:

The Corpus Hermetica is very thin, but heavy to ponder and consider, in some ways, and it reads like an ancient play dialogue.

The Book, by Watts, is a speedy, light little read, all on good philosophical stuff. Just lovely.

Beowulf is a classic, so if you haven't read that, try it out soon.
And Lady Gregory was one of the great authors and collectors of Celtic myth and legend, some might say history.
And we all know Jung. Right? Please say yes. Or go read some of his stuff, if only for your thinker.

That's the lot, as it stands!

This year is already loaded, and it feels thoroughly great. So attending diligently to my 'resolution' of sorts to read more regularly is going to be a trick of it's own!

What's your resolution for 2016?

Be well!
-Mairin-Taj